A Delco man was sentenced to life in prison for planning an ambush that killed his lifelong friend
Jesse Allen Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder in July in the death of Zaheem Sabree, a star football player at Chester High and honor student at STEM Academy.
In a crime that Delaware County prosecutors described as a misguided attempt at revenge, a Chester man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.
Jesse Allen Jr., 20, was convicted of first-degree murder in July in the 2024 death of 17-year-old Zaheem Sabree, a childhood friend he had recruited to help kill another teen accused of fatally shooting a mutual friend.
Though Allen did not fire the bullet that struck Sabree, he was found liable for his death under the legal principle of transferred intent, which holds that if a person intends to harm someone, but inadvertently harms someone else instead, that is a crime.
And the events leading up to Sabree’s death were set in motion by Allen, according to Deputy District Attorney Matt Krouse.
“I take no joy in asking for the sentence imposed by the court,” Krouse said after the hearing, “but hope this serves as a reminder that the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office will continue to hold responsible those driving the gun violence epidemic in our community and seek justice for victims and their families.”
Allen was also convicted of attempted murder for the plot against the intended target, Tyjohn Walker-Jones, who killed Sabree during a shootout on 24th Street.
For the attempted murder of Walker-Jones, Allen was sentenced to a consecutive term of 20 to 40 years in state prison.
Allen shook his head in silence and said nothing as Delaware County Court Judge Mary Alice Brennan handed down his sentence in a courtroom filled with his family and friends.
Walker-Jones, 18, is awaiting a trial on murder charges for the shooting that led Allen to plot against him: the killing of Sabrie “Breezy” Pierce months before Sabree’s death.
Allen’s attorney, Brian Malloy, declined to comment Thursday.
During Allen’s trial, he contended that prosecutors had erred in charging his client instead of Walker-Jones, who fired the fatal shot.
But Krouse, the prosecutor, said that but for Allen’s actions, Sabree, a star football player at Chester High School and honors student at STEM Academy, would still be alive.
Text messages presented during Allen’s three-day trial showed that he had begun recruiting people to help kill Walker-Jones immediately after Pierce’s murder.
“Everybody gone pay,” Allen said in the message, displayed in court.
On the day of the shooting, Allen and Sabree walked together through Walker-Jones’ neighborhood, looking for him, according to evidence presented at trial.
After spotting him near an abandoned fast food restaurant, they hid nearby and shot at him in a planned ambush.
Shell casings found at the scene showed that Walker-Jones and Sabree shot at each other multiple times — Sabree with a .45-caliber pistol and Walker-Jones with a 9mm, prosecutors said. Walker-Jones and Allen then fled in opposite directions.
Sabree was found near that scene, shot in the head. Police took him to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
